Psalms 104:9

Psa 104:9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

Ver. 9. Thou hast set a bound, &c.] A certain compass and course; an argument of God’s singular and sweet power and providence. See Job 38:10-11, {See Trapp on "Job 38:10"} {See Trapp on "Job 38:11"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 104:9. Thou hast set a bound — Even the sand of the sea-shore, as is expressed Jer 5:22. Which, though in itself contemptible, and a very poor defence to the earth against that swelling and raging element, yet, by God’s almighty power and gracious providence, is made sufficient for that purpose, as the experience of five thousand years hath taught us. That they turn not again to cover the earth — Once indeed they did, namely, in Noah’s flood, because God commanded them so to do; but not since, because he prohibits them, having promised not to drown the world again. God himself glories in this instance of his power, and uses it as an argument with us to fear him, Job 38:8, &c.; Jer 5:22. And surely this, if duly considered, would keep the world in awe of God and his goodness, that the waters of the sea would soon cover the earth if God did not restrain them.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. (Psa 104:9) A bound thou didst set, they shall not pass over, they shall not return to cover the earth. This grand exception to the law which governs the relations between land and water is the only one to be permitted or expected. The limits broken were renewed with an assurance that henceforth they should be inviolable. See Gen 9:15. Besides the immediate reference to the flood, the verse contains the statement of a general fact in the economy of nature, and thus furnishes a natural transition to the similar statements of the next verse.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

104:9-10 The Lord reigns over all bodies of water, including those on land. He replaced chaotic waters with order and abundance, and the earth became a splendid place for animals and humans, with water refreshing the ground, the birds, and the animals.

104:9 The Lord set a firm boundary for the seas to protect the land. God’s sovereignty over sea and land was an argument against the existence of Baal, whom the Canaanites celebrated as victorious over the waters (see Ps 29).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 9. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass] And what is this bound? The flux and reflux of the sea, occasioned by the solar and lunar attraction, the rotation of the earth on its own axis, and the gravitation of the waters to the centre of the earth. And what is the cause of all these? The will and energy of God. Thus the sea is prevented from drowning the earth equally where there are flat shores as where the sea seems hemmed in by huge mounds of land and mountains. The above, not these, are the bounds which it cannot pass, so that they cannot turn again to cover the earth.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. Thou hast set a bound which they shall not pass The miracle spoken of is in this verse amplified, from its perpetuity. Natural philosophers are compelled to admit, and it is even one of their first principles, that the water is circular, and occupies the region intermediate between the earth and the air. It is entirely owing to the providence of God, that part of the earth remains dry and fit for the habitation of men. This is a fact of which mariners have the most satisfactory evidence. Yea, were even the rudest and most stupid of our race only to open their eyes, they would behold in the sea mountains of water elevated far above the level of the land. Certainly no banks, and even no iron gates, could make the waters, which in their own nature are fluid and unstable, keep together and in one place, as we see to be the case. I have just now said that earthquakes, which bring destruction upon some places, leave the globe, upon the whole, as it was before; and in like manner, although the sea, in some parts of the world, overpasses its boundaries, yet the law, which confines it; within certain limits, stands fast, that the earth may be a fit habitation for men. The Baltic Sea, in our own time, inundated large tracts of land, and did great damage to the Flemish people and other neighboring nations. By an instance of this kind we are warned what would be the consequence, were the restraint imposed upon the sea, by the hand of God, removed. How is it that we have not thereby been swallowed up together, but because God has held in that outrageous element by his word? In short, although the natural tendency of the waters is to cover the earth, yet this will not happen, because God has established, by his word, a counteracting law, and as his truth is eternal, this law must remain steadfast.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(9) A bound.—It is striking to observe what a deep impression their little line of coast, the barrier which beat off the waves of the Mediterranean, made on the Hebrew mind. The sea was an object of dread. Or if dread passes into reverent wonder, as in Psa_104:25-26, it ends there; the Jew never took delight in the sea. Hence, the coast has for him only one purpose and suggestion. It is not for enjoyment or recreation, or even for uses of commerce. It is simply the defence set by God against the hostile waters.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. The reference is not to the Flood, but to the original separation of land and water confirmed after the Flood (Gen_9:9 ff.). Cp. Job_38:10-11; Pro_8:29.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou hast set a bound, that they may not pass over,.... The Targum adds,

"to the rolling waves of the sea.''

Set doors with bolts and bars, cliffs, rocks, and shores: and, what is more surprising, sand, which is penetrable, flexible, and moveable, is set as a perpetual bound to the raging ocean and its waves, which they cannot pass over: see Job 38:8. So the Lord has set a bound to the proud waters of afflictions, and says, Thus far shall ye go, and no farther; and to the life of man, which he cannot exceed, Job 14:5. But he has given man a law, as a rule to walk by, as the boundary of his conversation, and this he transgresses; in which he is less tractable than the raging sea and its waves. That they turn not again to cover the earth; as they did when it was first made, Psa 104:6 that is, not without the divine leave and power; for they did turn again and cover the earth, at the time of the flood; but never shall more. Some think there is no need to make this exception; since this was written after the flood, and when God had swore that the waters should no more go over the earth, Isa 54:9.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over - See Job 26:10, note; Job 38:10-11, note.

That they turn not again to cover the earth - As it was before the dry land appeared; or as the earth was when “darkness was upon the face of the deep” Gen 1:2, and when all was mingled earth and water. It is “possible” that in connection with this, the psalmist may also have had his eye on the facts connected with the deluge in the time of Noah, and the promise then made that the world should no more be destroyed by a flood, Gen 9:11, Gen 9:15.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

A bound; even the sand of the sea-shore, as it is expressed, Jer 5:22, which, though in itself contemptible, and a very poor defence to the earth against that swelling and raging element, yet by God’s almighty power and gracious providence is made sufficient for that purpose; which is noted as a wonderful work of God, Job 38:8, &c.

The earth, to wit, the whole earth, as it did in the beginning of the creation. This was God’s appointment, and the course of nature settled by him. But when men transgressed their bounds, all the laws of God and men, it is not strange if the waters also transgressed their bounds, and once again overwhelmed the earth in the general deluge.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 9. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. That bound has once been passed, but it shall never be so again. The deluge was caused by the suspension of the divine mandate which held the floods in check: they knew their old supremacy, and hastened to reassert it, but now the covenant promise for ever prevents a return of that carnival of waters, that revolt of the waves: ought we not rather to call it that impetuous rush of the indignant floods to avenge the injured honour of their King, whom men had offended? Jehovah's word bounds the ocean, using only a narrow belt of sand to confine it to its own limits: that apparently feeble restraint answers every purpose, for the sea is obedient as a little child to the bidding of its Maker. Destruction lies asleep in the bed of the ocean, and though our sins might well arouse it, yet are its bands made strong by covenant mercy, so that it cannot break loose again upon the guilty sons of men.

Ver. 9. Thou hast set a bound, etc. The Baltic Sea, in our own time, inundated large tracts of land, and did great damage to the Flemish people and other neighbouring nations. By an instance of this kind we are warned what would be the consequence, were the restraint imposed upon the sea, by the hand of God, removed. How is it that we have not thereby been swallowed up together, but because God has held in that outrageous element by his word? In short, although the natural tendency of the waters is to cover the earth, yet this will not happen, because God has established, by his word, a counteracting law, and as his truth is eternal, this law must remain stedfast. John Calvin.

Ver. 9. Thou hast set a bound, etc. In these words the psalmist gives us three things clearly concerning the waters. First, that once (he means it not of the deluge, but of the chaos), the waters did cover the whole earth, till God by a word of command sent them into their proper channels, that the dry land might appear. Secondly, that the waters have a natural propensity to return back and cover the earth again. Thirdly, that the only reason why they do not return back and cover the whole earth is, because God hath "set a bound, that they cannot pass." They would be boundless and know no limits, did not God bound and limit them. Wisdom giveth us the like eulogium of the power of God in this, Pr 8:29 "He gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment." What cannot he command, who sendeth his commandment to the sea and is obeyed? Some great princes, heated with rage and drunken with pride, have cast shackles into the sea, as threatening it with imprisonment and bondage if it would not be quiet; but the sea would not be bound by them; they have also awarded so many strokes to be given the sea as a punishment of its contumacy and rebellion against either their commands or their designs. How ridiculously ambitious have they been, who would needs pretend to such a dominion! Many princes have had great power at and upon the sea, but there was never any prince had any power over the sea; that's a flower belonging to no crown but the crown of heaven. Joseph Caryl.

Ver. 9. Thou hast set a bound, etc. A few feet of increase in the ocean wave that pursues its tidal circuit round the globe, would desolate cities and provinces innumerable... But with what immutable and safe control God has marked its limits! You shall observe a shrub or a flower on a bank of verdure that covers a sea cliff, or hangs down in some hollow; nay, you shall mark a pebble on the beach, you shall lay a shred of gossamer upon it; and this vast, ungovernable, unwieldy, tempestuous element shall know how to draw a line of moisture by its beating spray at the very edge, or on the very point of your demarcation, and then draw off its forces, not having passed one inch or hand's breadth across the appointed margin. And all this exact restraint and measurement in the motion of the sea, by that mysterious power shot beyond unfathomable depths of space, from orbs rolling in ether! a power itself how prodigious, how irresistible, yet how invisible, how gentle, how with minutest exactness measured and exerted. George B. Cheever, in "Voices of Nature to her Foster Child, the soul of Man, "1852.

Ver. 9. A bound that they may not pass over.

Now stretch your eye off shore, over waters made To cleanse the air, and bear the world's great trade, To rise and wet the mountains near the sun, Then back into themselves in rivers run, Fulfilling mighty uses, far and wide, Through earth, in air, or here, as ocean tide.

Ho! how the giant heaves himself, and strains And flings to break his strong and viewless chains; Foams in his wrath; and at his prison doors, Hark! hear him! how he beats, and tugs, and roars, As if he would break forth again, and sweep Each living thing within his lowest deep.

Richard Henry Dana (1787).

Ver. 9.

1. All things have their appointed bounds.

2. To pass those bounds without special permission by God is transgression. "Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass."

3. Extraordinary cases should be followed by a return to ordinary duties. "That they turn not again, "etc. G.R.

Psalms 104:10*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. Thou hast set a bound—This impassable boundary of the ocean was a perpetual wonder to the Hebrew mind as a mark of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; (Job_26:10; Job_38:10-11; Jer_5:22;) and fitly so, for the area of the ocean, as compared with the dry land, is as eight to three, and the security of the dry land, with its inhabitants, is wholly due to the depression of the ocean bed and the corresponding elevation of the land above the ocean level. This elevation of the continents above the sea is estimated to average one thousand feet. If all the dry land above the present ocean level were cast into the ocean it would raise the water only about three hundred and seventy-five feet, and “it would take forty times this amount to fill the oceanic depressions.”—Dana. How wonderfully, then, has God “shut up the sea,” and said, “Hitherto shall thou come, but no further.” Job_38:8; Job_38:11. The slow and local changes of the lines of sea shore, of which geology takes notice, is no contradiction of the text, for it is of the passing its boundary to again cover the earth that the text speaks.

That they turn not again to cover the earth—This language supposes that the recent prevalence of the ocean was lawless, not its proper state—not consistent with the ultimate designs of the Creator in regard to animal and vegetable life. This is the bearing of Psa_104:7-9, and is a remarkable coincidence with geological statements. If ever geology shall reach a demonstration of the causes which have produced the phenomena of the post-tertiary formations, particularly of the drift and erratic block period, these verses, together with passages from the book of Job and the first chapter of Genesis, may receive a clearer explanation than can now be given. Where Scripture refers to objects or phenomena of nature, or of archaeology, the things themselves must be understood before the language can be fully interpreted. We wait the demonstrations of science.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou hast set (or, didst set) a bound that they may not (rather, might not) pass over. (comp. Job_38:10, 11 Jer_5:22) The Deluge is for the time beyond the ken of the poet, who is singing God"s greatness in nature, and in the general laws under which he has placed it. Neither turn again to cover the earth. This law, once Broken by the miracle of the Deluge, was thenceforth made absolute and inviolable. (Gen_9:15)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A bound - Even the sand of the sea-shore.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

You set a boundary for them, viz. the sand that is around its shore.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.